Book Description

Meet Birmingham’s DI Tom Mariner.One of life’s grafters, he soared through the ranks to become an inspector before he hit the big 4-0. His colleagues wish they had even half his talent and razor-sharp intuition. But they don’t know the real Mariner. The times he’s gone on dates and failed to launch. Or the battles he’s fighting behind closed doors. He couldn’t make it work with his ex-girlfriend. But life without her, rattling around his rickety Victorian cottage by the canal, feels empty. Nowadays he can head to The Boatman — his beloved local pub — to sink as many real ales and indulge in as many games of dominoes as his heart desires. He is most at home in the outdoors, with an OS map and a compass, and in times of crisis, will take off and walk for miles in any weather. But what if he wants more . . . ?The series begins with Mariner searching for an elusive woman who may have information on the murder of a local journalist.In the early evening gloom, Tom Mariner sat at his desk in a similarly deserted office. His nose throbbed painfully despite assurances that it wasn’t broken, and every time he exhaled, he emitted a low whistling sound. A bag of frozen peas sent up by some joker in the canteen was generating a slow-spreading puddle on one corner of the desk, like the dull ache that was inching its way around his skull. He’d been through the files over and over now, hoping he’d missed her the last time and willing those brown eyes to gaze out at him. Once, he even thought he saw her, but he was kidding himself. Either she was new or she was careful, or she wasn’t what he thought.Collett’s absorbing tales of lies, deduction and suspense are set among the dark alleys and canals of England’s second city, Birmingham.In this 8-book box set:Book 1: DEADLY LIESBook 2: INNOCENT LIESBook 3: KILLER LIESBook 4: BABY LIESBook 5: MARRIED LIESBook 6: BURIED LIESBook 7: MISSING LIESBook 8: DARKEST LIESTHE SETTINGBirmingham is a city of stark contrasts with a rich cultural and historical heritage. Playing a key role in the industrial revolution, it helped shape the nation’s manufacturing industry. But with its many green spaces, Birmingham also borders on the beautiful countryside of Worcestershire and Warwickshire, is just a few miles from Stratford-upon-Avon and a short drive from the wild country of mid-Wales. Birmingham’s population is large and ethnically diverse, and while urban regeneration has forged a modern and culturally vibrant city, the decaying remnants of the industrial past and 1960s concrete jungle give it a unique and gritty character; the dark underbelly policed by DI Tom Mariner and his team.